Zen Catholicism

Zen Catholicism
Author: Aelred Graham
Publisher: Gracewing Publishing
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1994
Genre: Zen Buddhism
ISBN: 9780852442722

The author's reflection upon Zen Buddhism and Catholicism has shown many points of contact between them, in spite of their divergent rituals and philosophies. Although he warns against the weaknesses of Zen, he urges Westerners in general, and Catholics in particular, to draw from its strengths, suggesting that the harmony Zen points to at the heart of religion could bring the West freedom from unnecessary anxiety and a new awareness of the peace of God.

Resurrecting Jesus

Resurrecting Jesus
Author: Adyashanti
Publisher: Sounds True
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-04-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1622031628

For almost two millennia, the story of Jesus has shaped the lives of countless people. Yet today, even though the majority of us grew up in a culture suffused by the mythos of Jesus, many of us feel disconnected from the essence of his teachings. With Resurrecting Jesus, Adyashanti invites us to rediscover the life and words of Jesus as a direct path to the most radical of transformations: spiritual awakening. Jesus crossed all of the boundaries that separated the people of his time because he viewed the world from the perspective of what unites us, not what divides us. In Resurrecting Jesus, Adya embarks on a fascinating reconsideration of the man known as Jesus, examining his life from birth to Resurrection to reveal a timeless model of awakening and enlightened engagement with the world. Through close consideration of the archetypal figures and events of the Gospels, Adya issues a call to “live the Christ” in a way that is unique to each of us. “When the eternal and the human meet,” writes Adya, “that’s where love is born—not through escaping our humanity or trying to disappear into transcendence, but through finding that place where they come into union.” Resurrecting Jesus is a book for realizing this union in your own life, with heart and mind wide open to the mystery inside us all. With an all-new foreword by Episcopalian priest and scholar Cynthia Bourgeault.

Zig Zag Zen

Zig Zag Zen
Author: Allan Hunt Badiner
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2002-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780811832861

Buddhism and psychedelic experimentation share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. Zig Zag Zen launches the first serious inquiry into the moral, ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations created by the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. With a foreword by renowned Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor and a preface by historian of religion Huston Smith, along with numerous essays and interviews, Zig Zag Zen is a provocative and thoughtful exploration of altered states of consciousness and the potential for transformation. Accompanying each essay is a work of visionary art selected by artist Alex Grey, such as a vividly graphic work by Robert Venosa, a contemporary thangka painting by Robert Beer, and an exercise in emptiness in the form of an enso by a 17th-century Zen abbot. Packed with enlightening entries and art that lie outside the scope of mainstream anthologies, Zig Zag Zen offers eye-opening insights into alternate methods of inner exploration.

Existentialism and Christian Zen

Existentialism and Christian Zen
Author: A. William McVey
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Total Pages: 103
Release: 2012-10-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1780995938

The pursuit of the inner Christ mind appropriate for traditional Christians, New Thought advocates and spiritual seekers; an East/West spirituality is emerging.

Zen and the Birds of Appetite

Zen and the Birds of Appetite
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2010-07-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0811219720

Merton, one of the rare Western thinkers able to feel at home in the philosophies of the East, made the wisdom of Asia available to Westerners. "Zen enriches no one," Thomas Merton provocatively writes in his opening statement to Zen and the Birds of Appetite—one of the last books to be published before his death in 1968. "There is no body to be found. The birds may come and circle for a while... but they soon go elsewhere. When they are gone, the 'nothing,' the 'no-body' that was there, suddenly appears. That is Zen. It was there all the time but the scavengers missed it, because it was not their kind of prey." This gets at the humor, paradox, and joy that one feels in Merton's discoveries of Zen during the last years of his life, a joy very much present in this collection of essays. Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Zen, especially through his dialogue with the great Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki, the book makes an excellent introduction to a comparative study of these two traditions, as well as giving the reader a strong taste of the mature Merton. Never does one feel him losing his own faith in these pages; rather one feels that faith getting deeply clarified and affirmed. Just as the body of "Zen" cannot be found by the scavengers, so too, Merton suggests, with the eternal truth of Christ.

A Taste of Water

A Taste of Water
Author: Chwen Jiuan Agnes Lee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 236
Release: 1990
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This volume explores a spiritual approach that combines eastern religion and philosophy with Christianity. The authors discuss their own experiences with Mahayana Buddhism and classical Taoism and place those experiences within the perspective of traditional Christian practices and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Mind of Clover

The Mind of Clover
Author: Robert Aitken
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2015-12-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1466895241

In Taking the Path of Zen, Robert Aitken provided a concise guide to zazen (Zen meditation) and other aspects of the practice of Zen. In The Mind of Clover he addresses the world beyond the zazen cushions, illuminating issues of appropriate personal and social action through an exploration of the philosophical complexities of Zen ethics. Aitken's approach is clear and sure as he shows how our minds can be as nurturing as clover, which enriches the soil and benefits the environment as it grows. The opening chapters discuss the Ten Grave Precepts of Zen, which, Aitken points out, are "not commandments etched in stone but expressions of inspiration written in something more fluid than water." Aitken approaches these precepts, the core of Zen ethics, from several perspectives, offering many layers of interpretation. Like ripples in a pond, the circles of his interpretation increasingly widen, and he expands his focus to confront corporate theft and oppression, the role of women in Zen and society, abortion, nuclear war, pollution of the environment, and other concerns. The Mind of Clover champions the cause of personal responsibility in modern society, encouraging nonviolent activism based on clear convictions. It is a guide that engages, that invites us to realize our own potential for confident and responsible action.

Zen and Comparative Studies

Zen and Comparative Studies
Author: Masao Abe
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1997-01-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780824818326

This volume concludes the two-volume sequel to Masao Abe's Zen and Western Thought. Like its companion, Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue, this work contains many previously published essays and papers by Abe. Here he clarifies the true meaning of Buddhist emptiness in comparison with the Aristotelian notion of substance and the Whiteheadean notion of process.

The Dude and the Zen Master

The Dude and the Zen Master
Author: Jeff Bridges
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2013-01-08
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1101600756

The perfect gift for fans of The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges's "The Dude", and anyone who could use more Zen in their lives. Zen Master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who are “simple and unassuming,” and “so good that on account of them God lets the world go on.” Jeff puts it another way. “The wonderful thing about the Dude is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out.” For more than a decade, Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue and remarkable humanism in a book that reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.